England or Bust!

31 days and counting!!! This is not including today. 31 days until I go back to the country that I love so much. Back to the awesome accents, digestive biscuts, fish and chips, and driving on the left side of the road. I decided about a year ago that I was going to go back to England in the summer of 2009 and now, that time is almost here. I am pretty sure that if I had not been born in the United States, I would have been born British!!! I love it and can't wait to spend two wonderful weeks going all over the country!!

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Meet Jax, our friend Kirk's bearded dragon. Or lizard. We have had him as our "pet" for the last month while Kirk has been out of town. And, it was great. The easiest pet ever. Feeding time, every Saturday and it is extrememly entertaining. But, the most entertaining was the video below. This is my second attempt at the video....Enjoy!!

Jax and his new favorite treat!

A lot of people, candy and a bearded dragon named Jax can only mean one thing!!! A very funny video!!! Some friends decided to feed Jax a sucker and, well... He loved it!

Happy Easter 2009

Granite School District had it right when they scheduled our extremely short spring break over Easter. Making the long 6 hour adventure home to Salmon, Idaho was worth the short spring break. Fabulous weather, great family time and of course...some work! : )

Decorating Easter Eggs, the annual scavenger hunt around the ranch, rolling eggs (a tradition brought back from England) and the newest, Egg Shmear!!!



















Egg Shmear, inspired by Cheaper by the Dozen, a dozen hard boiled eggs, a tennis racket and nice weather leads to the newest Stokes tradition!









Easter is not just about good food, Easter eggs and candy. It is a time to spend with family and to remember what Easter is all about. I was pleasantly surprised when I had to give a talk in one of the wards in my home town. What a great opportunity to speak on the Resurrection of our Savior on Easter and to reflect and think about Him. Without the Savior, all that we have and all that we know would not be possible.

Festival of Colors 2009

The last weekend in March, every March is the Holi Festival, which is the Hindu celebration of spring. How fun is this event as you will see....

Here we are, originally clean and wearing our grubby clothes just because. But, that did not last long. All of a sudden, color flies everywhere and we are covered. Colored corn starch and people throwing it everywhere always end up being a great time. Even though it only happens once a year

The whole gang, once all the color was done and all thrown. We all had a great time and are looking forward to next year. It is already being planned!

Sharpest Crayon in the Box?

RED = Anger
Are you currently mad at someone? No.
Which of your family members has the worst temper? We’re all pretty mellow!!! Which is nice- not many rumbles!
Have you ever thrown something at anyone? Does a white board marker count when I jokingly threw it at a student
Does your face turn red when you’re angry? Yes and I hate it. I can’t even hide it. Usually I am super good at hiding how I am feeling but sometimes, it just doesn’t work that way.
When you’re mad, do you prefer to stare angrily or yell? I just get quiet. And I like to be by myself and I cool off then I’m fine. And, sometimes when I am really mad or upset- I just cry. Pathetic but true!

ORANGE = Excitement
Has anyone ever thrown a surprise party for you? I think when I was 16. It obviously didn’t really stick in my brain. And, this summer I was in Washington DC for my birthday and my fellow travelers threw a party for me and my friend Kim. It was a surprise for the most of the day until we were on our way back from Georgetown and we had to hurry to get to the party!!! It slipped but we were still surprised
Do you get easily excited? Yes. And about the easiest things. Sunshine, flowers, good food, fun times with friends. I think life should be full of joy and excitement and I like to look for the simple things that make me happy and smile!
What’s something that you’re most excited about? Wow- how to narrow it down. Right now, I love shadow boxing and can’t wait for Thursday nights! I love warm weather and wearing shorts and flip flops and it is so close now…..Also, I am excited for spring break around the corner and this being the last term of the school year!
If you won a million dollars, what would be your first thought? Hmmmm. Totally selfish for a second….buy me a car and go back to school. I am so ready for a masters degree. And, I would go to New Zealand.
If you could have anything right now, what would it be? I think to be in bed. Yes, at 10:30 on a Saturday night…..The festival of colors totally wiped me out but it was a blast.

YELLOW = Self Discovery
Name: Carrie
Birthday: June 15
What’s your main goal in life? To be happy. I consider myself a very happy person. I don’t get mad very often and think that I tend to be happy most of the time. But I never want to lose that. I always want to be happy and as things change in my life, I figure I can only be happier as life continues on!
Do you want to have children? Yes. As far as when and how many, that will come later!
When do you want to die? When I can no longer take care of myself and the people I love.

GREEN = Opinions
Are you against gay marriage? Yes.
Lower the drinking age? No way!!!! High schoolers are crazy already- trust me…I know!!! Lower it and we have even more wild teenagers running around. We don’t need that.

BLUE = Love
Do you love someone? Depends on what kinds of love. I love a lot of people. There are so many important people in my life and I love them all. Romantic love… I have fallen in love before but currently, have not found the “love of my life”
Do you believe in love at first sight? No I don’t but I do believe that there could be feelings on that first initial meeting.

PURPLE = Q & A
Q: How many beds did you lay in today? Well, only one. What would people think if I said more than that!
Q:What color shirt are you wearing? white
Q:Name one thing that you do every day? Well, that could be a lot of things. I spend hours a day teaching high school, grading papers and dealing with kids who think that I am the cause of all of their stress. I also spend time at the gym which is a great stress reliever from those long school days. So, that is two things but I can’t really narrow it down to one, unless I say, read my scriptures!! : )
Q:How much cash do you have on you right now? Maybe five dollars thanks to Mindy and Rocky who gave me money for the colored corn starch to throw all over everyone.
Q:Look to your left. What’s there? Couch pillows
Q:What’s the last piece of clothing you borrowed? An outfit from Melissa last Sunday. Thanks- I got lots of compliments!!.
Q:What website(s) do you visit most during the day? Weather Channel- I’ve become a weather girl in my classroom. Also, Fox news and sometimes CNN. I like Fox better
Q:Do you have plants in your room? No, I would kill it. I have the same talent of keeping plants alive like my mom- none! .
Q:Does anything hurt on your body right now? Yes. My shoulders and my back. But, why I’m not sure. Either from shadow boxing or from the woman who rear ended my car today!!!
Q:What city was your last taxicab ride in? Washington DC at 2 am. Lost in DC, a bunch of Utah teachers. Funny story!
Q:Do you own a picture phone? Yes but I don’t use it a lot. Usually to take pictures of Hawaii license plates and other random things I see. Story behind the Hawaii plate….My dad promised us that if we saw a Hawaii license plate then he would take us there. Well, Dad, I’ve seen lots and I’m still waiting on that trip!.
Q:Recent time you were really upset? Last week. And it wasn’t super bad but it was still so hard!! The most recent when I failed my last test..

PINK = Last
Person you saw: Kaylin. She’s sitting next to me.
Movie watched in cinema: Taken. Great movie.
Song you just listened to? Can't remember
Person you talked on the phone with: Kaylin

GREY = Today
What are you doing right now? Sitting here.
What are you doing tonight? Going to bed!! : )
What are you going to eat? I ate white chili and it was yummy!

BROWN = Tomorrow
Is: Sunday
Goal: I love Sundays. One of my favorite days. I really just want to enjoy church and feel the Spirit.
Are you going to laugh? Pretty sure that is a yes. I love to laugh and with my roommates, laughing is a regular thing!

Yes- I am still alive!!! Here is the latest.....

Finally!!!! A post from me. It has been.....months. It seems like work and life just tends to get crazy and time just gets away. But, thank goodness for lazy Sunday so I can do a few updates. So, I don't have to wear glasses but they sure are cute. The last few months I have had a really hard time driving at night and have been getting headaches while I did drive so, a needed trip to the eye doctor happened. The doctor said I have great vision but gave me a very mild prescription for driving. I think it really helps. So, on days when I don't quite have time to get ready or when I just want to feel smart, I throw them on. They are fun for a little image change!!!
Thank goodness for parent teacher conferences which means no school last Friday! Though I would've loved the extra day onto spring break, I will take what we get. I thought it would be a great time to head up to Logan and visit my great friend AriAnna, her husband Ryan and their adorable little boy Hunter. What a great time we had. It's so good to have a friend where you can not talk for awhile but when you get together, you pick up right where you left up. And that is exactly what we did. I rolled into Franklin, Idaho ( the oldest town in Idaho!) about 2 pm and we just chatted for hours. All of a sudden it was 5pm and time to make dinner. We had a great time just talking about everything from cute little Hunter to my love interests! : )
We decided to run into Preston for some ice cream about 8:30 and Hunter was all ready to go. PJs and rubber boots!!!

Their house is so cute and....it is one of the oldest houses in Idaho! Being a history teacher, I always look for stuff like that. It was a great weekend and I can't wait for the next one!